Austrian Development Agency Awards Research Bursaries to UB Staff and Students
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA), through the SOLTRAIN+ project, has awarded bursaries amounting to EUR 7,291.00 (approximately P114,000) to University of Botswana (UB) staff and students to support innovative research experiments and projects in renewable energy and solar thermal technologies.
Among the beneficiaries is Mr Kago Rabasoma, a Lecturer in Mechanical and Energy Engineering, who received funding to support his PhD experiments on the development of a thermal energy storage test bed using locally sourced silica-rich sand as a thermal storage material.
Miss Gorata Matsapa, a final-year student in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was also awarded funding to implement a smart solar thermal monitoring and predictive control system with autonomous fault mitigation capabilities.
In addition, Miss Tshegofatso Lebotse and Miss Wame Moroba, both final-year students in Mechanical and Energy Engineering, received joint funding to conduct energy audits in selected firms in Gaborone focusing on the adoption of solar thermal technology as an energy efficiency practice.
Similarly, Miss Matilda Galefetoge and Miss Kalayame Molokwe, also final-year students in Mechanical and Energy Engineering, were jointly funded to develop a monitoring dashboard for the remote monitoring of solar thermal installations at the University of Botswana.
Receiving the awardees, Botswana SOLTRAIN+ Project Manager, Professor Kevin Nwaigwe, commended the recipients for distinguishing themselves in the highly competitive SOLTRAIN bursary call. Professor Nwaigwe encouraged them to undertake their research diligently and ensure timely submission of reports in accordance with the terms of their award contracts.
Earlier this year, the SOLTRAIN+ project also supported two undergraduate students to attend international conferences and present research outputs in the field of solar thermal technology. Miss Kalayame Molokwe received full sponsorship to attend the 6th International Conference on Solar Technologies and Hybrid Mini-Grids to Improve Energy Access held in Mallorca, Spain while Miss Gorata Matsapa received partial funding to attend the 4th International Sustainable Energy Conference held in Graz, Austria.
The awards underscore the growing impact of international partnerships in strengthening research capacity, innovation and sustainable energy solutions at the University of Botswana.